Impact of media systems on embryo development and outcomes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of sequential and single-step media systems on embryo and blastocyst development, utilisation rates and clinical outcomes in ART.
IRAS ID
223902
Contact name
Emily Tonks
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 16 days
Research summary
The ultimate purpose of in vitro fertilisation treatments - such as IVF and ICSI – is to aid in the development of eggs to embryos. Of these, the highest quality are transferred to the patient or frozen in the hope of a healthy live birth.
Throughout this journey, the embryo sits in a culture dish within a nourishing liquid culture media environment: providing the embryo with the essential building-blocks it needs for development.
There are many commercial culture media systems available, and as of September 2016, the Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre (SMWFC) in Shrewsbury, UK, switched from a 'sequential media system' supplied by Cook Medical (called Sydney IVF, requiring a media change on day 3 of embryo development) to a 'single-step media system' supplied by Vitrolife (called G-Series, with no such change of media). Embryos are kept in a standard incubator and development assessed by eye by an Embryologist at specified time intervals.
The study aim is to establish which of the two culture systems is most beneficial to embryos - and therefore patients. Various characteristics of embryo development and their quality will be examined. How embryos are utilised (e.g. how many are transferred, frozen or discarded) and resultant clinical outcomes (e.g. pregnancy rates) will also be examined. The implications of these results will impact media use at SMWFC and add to the limited literature comparing Vitrolife single-step against Cook sequential media.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0165
Date of REC Opinion
28 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion